Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle.
The Double Oak Community Church at Chelsea Park is under construction and should be ready by late fall 2020.
The Double Oak Community Church at Chelsea Park is just a few months away from having its new home.
After meeting at Chelsea Park Elementary since August 2018, the congregation will have a permanent home on a new campus at the entrance of Chelsea Park, with a goal to open the new building this November.
The congregation is a plant of Double Oak Community Church, which began in Mt Laurel in 2005. After starting the Chelsea campus almost two years ago, plans were already in place to stay in the area. The 14 acres of land just off U.S. 280 was purchased outright in December 2017.
Adam Robinson is the senior pastor of both campuses. He said the church has enjoyed being in Mt Laurel but is landlocked on the half acre of property. As the congregation at the campus grew, additional services were added, with three on Sunday mornings for many years. With no option to grow beyond that, the church decided to add a second campus nearby in the community to be able to serve more people.
“The big thing we wanted to tell the community is that we were investing here,” said Michael Abrams, connections pastor and interim pastor at DOCC Chelsea Park. “We really wanted to have a presence in Chelsea. We had the land purchased and started building very quickly after that. We were here to stay.”
Abrams, a resident of Chelsea Park, said many people come to the elementary school thinking the church is just for Chelsea Park residents or just for young people, but it is in fact an intergenerational church open to all.
“We offer a worship experience for each and every age demographic,” Abrams said. “We value different expressions across age demographics, and our church is for all people, anyone in Chelsea who wants to come be a part.”
About 1,300 people attend DOCC between both campuses, and Chelsea Park has between 275-310 attendees each week. While holding services at the elementary school, the worship service is in the cafeteria, children’s worship in the gym, and there are several classrooms and open spaces for classes, community groups and student ministry.
The Chelsea Park building was designed by architect Michael O’Kelley, a member of the church who also designed the Mt Laurel location. The buildings will have similarities, but the new one will also have a unique design.
“Clearly the new building favors Chelsea Park more than Mt Laurel,” Abrams said. “The unique design for the campus is in many ways looks like an upside down ‘U’ or lowercase ‘n.’ There’s a courtyard in front and commons walks all the way around.”
Although DOCC normally does not stream its services online, it began to implement that during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both pastors said they put an emphasis on live preaching and getting to know their congregation.
“It’s the ability to have real relationships,” Robinson said. “It’s about really interacting and growing. That community feel is important to us as we minister and serve. We are thankful for technology and opportunities we’ve had, but our preference is to be there in person.”
Abrams added: “To have the opportunity to connect with people personally, I would be remiss if people couldn't approach us afterward and have deeper interaction or be able to pray with someone immediately.”
Both campuses share a lot of the same resources both financially and personnel as well. Many members at Mt Laurel have given to Chelsea Park’s multiply campaign so that people in Chelsea have a place to worship.
“Many of Mt Laurel people may not set foot in the Chelsea campus, or they may just come check it out, but they are giving each month so the campus can be a place people in Chelsea can worship,” Abrams said. “It’s exciting, and we hope the Chelsea campus will be able to do for others as well.”
